Dance Shoe Support Attachment Apparatus

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for attaching a dance shoe support to a dance shoe. The apparatus including a flexible substrate having a support side and a shoe side. The support side has a first adhesive material creating a first adhesion layer on the shoe support side. The shoe side has a second adhesive material creating a second adhesion layer on the shoe side. The support side is affixed to the dance shoe support and the shoe side is affixed to an inner surface of the dance shoe. The flexible substrate may further include a plurality of measurement indicators to allow for adjustment to the length of the flexible substrate prior to being affixed to the dance shoe support.

REFERENCE TO PENDING APPLICATIONS

This application does not claim the benefit of any issued U.S. Patent or pending application.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally toward a pointe shoe, and more specifically, to an attachment apparatus for securing a ribbon and/or elastic support to a pointe shoe.

BACKGROUND

A pointe shoe is a type of shoe worn by ballet dancers when performing pointe work, i.e. dance en pointe (on the tips of their toes) for extended periods of time and are often considered the most important tool in the ballet dancer's trade.

A pointe shoe employs two fabric ribbons, and at times an elastic band, to secure the pointe shoe to the foot. Most of the work of securing shoes to the feet is done by the ribbons. The two ribbons wrap around the dancer's ankle in opposite directions, overlapping one another so as to form a cross at the front. The ends are then tied together in a knot, which is then tucked under the ribbon on the inside of the ankle to hide it from view. The elastic band—which traverses the front of the ankle below the ribbons—keeps the heel of the shoe in place against the foot when the dancer is en pointe.

Traditionally, the ribbon has been the same color as the pointe shoes, and should match the dancer's tights, as this helps the look of the pointe shoe remain elongating as it was intended to be. The traditional colors are a shade of light pink, however, more bold colors are being utilized.

The locations where the elastic band and ribbons attach to a shoe is critical, as incorrect placement can result in a poorly fitting shoe. Optimal placement depends on the physical attributes of the foot to which it will be mated, and consequently the ribbons and elastic bands cannot be attached during the shoe manufacturing process. After acquiring a new pair of pointe shoes, a dancer must determine the appropriate attachment locations for the ribbons and elastic bands while keeping an aesthetically pleasing look, and then attach the elastic band and ribbons onto the shoes.

Traditionally, the dancer sews the ribbons and elastic into his or her pointe shoes, which has been describe as one of ballet's most tedious rituals. This ritual requires the dancer to learn to sew properly with little room for error. The act of sewing, however, is becoming a lost art as it is no longer being taught en mass to the modern current generation of dancers. By not having proper training, the dancer risks placing the ribbons in an incorrect location causing a poorly fitting shoe. Further, the act of sewing the ribbons into the pointe shoe can be time consuming.

In the prior art, various apparatus and methods have been attempted to address the above referenced challenges. One prior art apparatus utilizes a series of snaps to attach the ribbon to the shoe. This apparatus has a disadvantage in that both the ribbon and the shoe must be modified to include the respective portions of a snap fastener in order to be functional. Further, the snap may rub or otherwise interfere with the dancer's foot, causing discomfort and possible injury.

Another prior art apparatus discloses the use of an insert having the ribbon pre-attached thereto with the insert being placed inside the shoe. This has a disadvantage in that the ribbon is not directly attached to the shoe, which can cause misalignments and otherwise unwanted movements of the ribbons relative to the shoe.

As such, there is a need for a device to address the above issues.

SUMMARY

The present invention relates generally toward a pointe shoe, and more specifically, to an attachment apparatus for securing a ribbon and/or elastic support to a pointe shoe. While the present invention is directed toward a pointe shoe, those skilled in the art will recognize that the attachment apparatus of the present invention may be utilized with other types of dance shoes that require support being attached thereto.

In one aspect, an apparatus for attaching a dance shoe support to a dance shoe is disclosed. A dance shoe support may be a ribbon, elastic band or other item that is secured to a dance shoe in order to provide support and to secure the dance shoe to the dancer's foot. A dance shoe may be any shoe that a dancer wears while dancing, such as a ballet pointe shoe.

In this aspect, the apparatus includes a flexible substrate having a support side and a shoe side. The support side has a first adhesive material creating a first adhesion layer. This allows the shoe support side to be affixed to the dance shoe support. The shoe side has a second adhesive material creating a second adhesion layer. This allows the shoe side to be affixed to an inner surface of the dance shoe. The apparatus allows for the securing of the dance shoe support to be secured to the dance shoe without the need to sew the dance shoe support into the dance shoe.

Based on the adhesive requirements for affixing the flexible substrate to the dance shoe support and the dance shoe, the adhesive material may be the same, or different, on both the shoe side and support side. Further, the adhesive material may be composed of adhesive material that is considered a permanent adhesive, i.e. will not release its adhesion, or temporary adhesive, i.e. will release its adhesion. This allows the dancer to periodically remove the dance shoe support from the dance shoe.

In another aspect, the flexible substrate may include a plurality of measurement indicators to allow for adjustment to the length of the flexible substrate prior to being affixed to the dance shoe support. These measurement indicators may be a series of tabs, visible lines or other indicator of measurement along the surface of the substrate.

In another aspect, a method for attaching a dances shoe support to a dance shoe is disclosed. The method includes the use of an apparatus as set out above and includes the steps of affixing the support side of the flexible substrate to one side of a dance shoe support and then affixing the shoe side of the flexible substrate to an inner surface of a dance shoe.

Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

In drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention wherein similar characters of reference denote corresponding parts in each view,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art dance shoe.

FIG. 2 is a top view of an embodiment of an apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of an apparatus of the present invention being affixed to a dance shoe.

FIG. 4 is a side cross section view of an embodiment of an apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a shoe side view of an embodiment of an apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a shoe side view of an additional embodiment of an apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a shoe view of the embodiment of an apparatus of the present invention of FIG. 5 in operation.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a method of an embodiment of an apparatus of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a prior art ballet pointe shoe 10 is disclosed. Pointe shoe 10 is secured to a dancer's foot and ankle 14 by a pointe shoe ribbon 12. While this embodiment is directed toward a pointe shoe 10 and a pointe shoe ribbon 12, such is not limiting. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the apparatus of the present invention may be utilized with other types of dance shoes that require support being attached thereto, and those dance shoe supports, are within the scope of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 5, an embodiment of an apparatus 20 for attaching a pointe shoe ribbon 12 to a pointe shoe 10. Apparatus 20 includes a flexible substrate 22 having a support side 26 and a shoe side 24. The support side 26 has a first adhesive material 27 creating a first adhesion layer 30 on the support side 26. First adhesion layer 30 allows support side 26 to be affixed to one side of pointe shoe ribbon 12. The shoe side 24 has a second adhesive material 29 creating a second adhesion layer 28 on the shoe side 24. Substrate 22 may be constructed of any flexible material that is capable of having adhesive adhere thereto, such as plastics based and paper based materials.

Second adhesion layer 28 allows shoe side 24 to be affixed to an inside surface 18 of pointe shoe 10. Substrate 20 may be affixed from the insole 17 to the top 19 of the inside surface. By affixing pointe shoe ribbon 12 to pointe shoe 10 with the adhesive layered substrate 20, the dancer is able to secure the pointe shoe ribbon 12 in a more efficient and effective manner, without the need to learn any sewing techniques.

In some embodiments, first adhesive material 27 and second adhesive material 29 are composed of adhesive material sufficient to adhere flexible substrate 20 a pointe shoe. In some embodiments, first adhesive material 27 and second adhesive material 29 are composed of the same adhesion material. However, in other embodiments, as the adhesion requirements for securing substrate 20 to pointe shoe ribbon 12 may differ from the adhesion requirements for securing substrate 20 to pointe shoe 10, first adhesive material 27 and second adhesive material 29 may be different adhesion materials. Once such situation may be when it is desirable to remove pointe shoe ribbon 12 from pointe shoe 10, while keeping substrate 20 affixed to pointe shoe ribbon 12. In such situation, first adhesive material 27 may be a permanent adhesive composition, while second adhesive material 29 may be a temporary adhesive composition.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the first adhesive layer 28 is not quite flush with shoe side 24. This is illustrative and not meant to be limiting. Those skilled in the art will recognize the both adhesive layers 28, 30 may be extended to the full extent of their respective shoe side 24 and support 26.

As illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, an additional embodiment of flexible substrate 50 is disclosed. In this embodiment, substrate 50 includes a support side and a shoe side 52, along a first adhesion layer and a second adhesion layer, as set out above. Flexible substrate 50 further includes a plurality of tabs 60 to allow for the adjustment to the length of the flexible substrate 50 and pointe shoe ribbon 62 prior to being affixed to a pointe shoe. Tab 60 is a measurement indicator and allows for the dancer to adjust the length of substrate 50 prior to being affixed to pointe shoe ribbon 62 and/or after being affixed to pointe shoe ribbon 62 but before being affixed to a pointe shoe. For example, the dancer may cut the substrate along line AA, as illustrated in FIG. 7. These adjustments allow the dancer to adjust the length of pointe shoe ribbon 62 in order to provide sufficient support for the dancer as well as to provide an aesthetic look to the pointe shoes and pointe shoe ribbons 62.

In some embodiments, a pointe shoe ribbon may be provided have a substrate as set out above with a pointe shoe adhesion layer for affixing to an inner surface of a pointe shoe.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, a method 100 for attaching a pointe shoe ribbon to a pointe shoe utilizing an apparatus disclosed above is disclosed. Method 100 includes affixing the support side to the dance shoe support at step 110 and affixing the shoe side to an inner surface of the dance shoe at step 120.

While preferred embodiments of the present inventive concept have been shown and disclosed herein, it will be obvious to those persons skilled in the art that such embodiments are presented by way of example only, and not as a limitation to the scope of the inventive concept. Variations, changes, and substitutions may occur or be suggested to those skilled in the art without departing from the intent, scope, and totality of this inventive concept. Such variations, changes, and substitutions may involve other features which are already known per se and which may be used instead of, in combination with, or in addition to features already disclosed herein.

Accordingly, it is intended that this inventive concept be inclusive of such variations, changes, and substitutions, and by no means limited by the scope of the claims presented herein. 

I claim:
 1. An apparatus for attaching a dance shoe support to a dance shoe, the apparatus comprising: a flexible substrate having a support side and a shoe side, the support side having a first adhesive material creating a first adhesion layer on the support side, the shoe side having a second adhesive material creating a second adhesion layer on the shoe side, whereby, the support side is affixed to the dance shoe support and the shoe side is affixed to an inner surface of the dance shoe.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first adhesive material and the second adhesive material are the same material.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first adhesive material and/or the second adhesive material is a temporary adhesive allowing for the dance shoe support to be removably secured to the dance shoe.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the flexible substrate further comprises: a plurality of measurement indicators to allow for adjustment to the length of the flexible substrate prior to being affixed to the dance shoe support.
 5. A pointe shoe ribbon apparatus for attachment to a pointe shoe, the apparatus comprising: a pointe shoe ribbon having an outer side and an inner side; and a flexible substrate having a ribbon side and a shoe side, the ribbon side of the flexible substrate being secured to the outer side of the pointe shoe ribbon proximate an end of the pointe shoe ribbon, the shoe side of the flexible substrate having a shoe adhesive material creating a shoe adhesion layer, whereby, the shoe side of the flexible substrate is affixed to an inner surface of the pointe shoe.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the shoe adhesive material is a temporary adhesive allowing for the pointe shoe ribbon apparatus to be removably secured to the pointe shoe.
 7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the flexible substrate further comprises: a plurality of measurement indicators to allow for adjustment to the length of the pointe shoe ribbon apparatus prior to being affixed to the pointe shoe.
 8. A method for attaching a dance shoe support to a dance shoe utilizing a dance shoe support apparatus having a flexible substrate having a support side and a shoe side, the support side having a first adhesive material creating a first adhesion layer on the shoe support side, the shoe side having a second adhesive material creating a second adhesion layer on the shoe side, the method comprising the steps of: affixing the support side to the dance shoe support; and affixing the shoe side to an inner surface of the dance shoe. 